


Future's beginning

by Angelle_wings



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: Fist Fights, Gen, Takes place before the scarlet night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-21 11:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11943348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelle_wings/pseuds/Angelle_wings
Summary: “If you can’t hold something in your hand, then make a fist and take it by force!”





	Future's beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kisara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kisara/gifts).



> HAPPY BDAY KISARA!!!!!!
> 
> Happy birthday to the friend who always is ready to listen to me, encourage me when I need it and scream with me about fictional characters! I wanted to take this chance to show you how much I appreciate you as a friend and betareader and I could say soooo much and never shut up about how much I appreciate you so i guess a fic had to be made to show you that. IDK I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY?? LIKE WAY TOO MUCH?? AND I DONT THINK WHAT IM WRITING SAYS ALL MY THOUGHTS?? BUT STILL?? I HOPE U NO HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE U. Happy bday!! I hope u have a great day!! Btw this fic was so much fun to write and as usual i wouldnt be me if i didnt write a random NPC so this time it was Aifread- I hope you enjoy this!!!
> 
> I also wanna give a thank you to propinkist for being my beta reader and putting up with my very little knowledge of ships- like literal ship parts i mean- i caused u so much trouble with this- i appreciate your help so so so SOOOO much! And also another thank u to propinkist and squid (@meeb0 on tumblr) for helping with the title!!!

_Yours truly,  Eizen._

He signed off the letter. As soon as he reached land he planned to send it out. But since he had days until they reached land, he decided giving it a quick read before stuffing it in the envelope wouldn't hurt anyone. The deck was peaceful and the sea was calm. And so, he took the opportunity to write a letter underneath the moonlight. Though the light wasn’t exactly ideal, he didn’t care, as it was rare for the deck to be as quiet as it was today. But there was a reason for that: the crew was invited by Aifread to drink and celebrate.  As for what they were celebrating, Eizen didn't know or ask - he didn't care. But Aifread had invited him to join; however, he immediately declined when he saw that this night might be the only time he had to write in silence.

“You writing a letter?  You surely don’t seem like the type to write a letter to a lover.”

Eizen didn't need to turn around to know whose voice it belonged to.  He let out a deep sigh; the last thing he wanted was the captain disturbing the silence or pestering him about the letter and who it was for. Eizen folded the paper quickly, stuffed it into the envelope and tucked it in his pocket.

“So who’s the lucky girl eh?” He asked with a playful grin.  It was evident that Eizen wasn't able to escape the inevitable.

“Captain-”

“Stop with the formalities -  I told you, call me Aifread.” He walked by Eizen's side and leaned against the starboard rail. “I thought I'd come check on you and tell you that you’re missing out on a lively party, but here I find you writing a letter to a lover. But aye, can't blame you - who wouldn’t ditch a party like ours for a girl?”

It had been a couple of days since Eizen was asked to join the Van Eltia, a pirate ship owned by a man named Aifread. There were rumors of him all over the world - he was known as a villain who stole ships, treasure, and did whatever he pleased.  From all the rumors, little did Eizen ever expect that he would ever be standing by his side talking to him aboard his own ship.

As for how Eizen met him - that was a story of its own. It went as follows: An odd captain asked a Reaper to join his ship. The Reaper warned him of the curse he had, but the captain accepted him nonetheless. He didn't have much of a say in the matter, and now had sailed the sea with them for the last couple of days.

Eizen found it unusual that such a man accepted him so suddenly. And despite the time he had spent with him, he didn't know the intentions behind his choice at all.  Aifread was strange in nature, but what was stranger to Eizen was how was a man like Aifread was able to see a malak like him and act as natural as he did. But he never found an answer. So now, he was stuck on a ship with a malak-seeing captain with a rowdy crew for the next few days. It wasn’t entirely bad though; it was only a few days until they reached land, and as soon as they arrived he could leave this odd group - that is, if his bad luck didn’t rub off on the ship before then.

Eizen turned to look at him with folded arms. “I don’t understand you, Captain -”

“Call me Aifread.”

Ignoring him, Eizen continued. “How are you so calm, Captain, with seeing me, and acting as if we were friends for centuries? Why would you just suddenly accept me onto your ship?”

Aifread sighed; Eizen didn’t seem like he was planning to drop the ‘Captain’ anytime soon. He had to give up. “If I answer that, would you stop ignoring my question?”

Eizen raised a brow. “I don’t have to answer if I don’t trust-”

Interrupting him, Aifread asked “Why do you think, of all the things I could have been in life, I am here as a captain of this ship?”

Eizen stared at him in confusion. Where did such a random question come from? But Aifread wasn't joking this time, and Eizen knew it. This wasn't another of his silly games. He wasn't smiling and teasing him. So, he tried to think of an answer. But he came up blank - how would he know why someone would choose to be a pirate?

"I suppose that was a difficult question, and perhaps sounds a little random," Aifread grinned. Eizen was speechless - it was as if Aifread was reading his mind... Did he have the ability to read minds? It might not be impossible; he could, after all, see malakhim. But Eizen shook his head - he was overthinking this. Aifread, however, didn't look up to see him; his eyes were focused on the waves ahead of him.

After a short moment of silence, Aifread spoke up. "Know this, Eizen: life has many unsolved mysteries. There are many things and places that we haven’t explored; under this sea might be treasures we don’t even know of.”

What lay beneath those waves may have been something that someone was searching for for centuries; maybe a family treasure, or something that would change the world forever. And the thought of all of those possibilities excited Aifread. Anything was possible.

"If I was too busy to question everything in life, I might end up nowhere," he continued. "I don’t give a damn if life decided to give me, the worst villain alive, the ability, the _“potential”,_ to see you. As a pirate, I have seen the impossible. I have done the impossible. So why should I care if I can see you? You are alive - whether you’re a malak, a human, a devil or whatever - you are on my ship now, and whatever you are is the least of my concerns; if you are on this ship, _you are a part of my crew.”_

Eizen stared at him, dumbfounded. “Do you not care even if that malak is a Reaper? Captain, I told you once and I’ll tell you again: my curse isn't a joke. It brings ill fortune to all those around me, to people I know and to those I don’t. Thanks to that, everything good I hold onto inevitably escapes my grasp.”

Eizen had left his home in search of a cure for his curse. That was what he had told Aifread before, but it didn't seem like he cared. Eizen still wondered, why would Aifread be crazy enough to welcome bad luck onto their ship? And he knew - Aifread would only regret it afterwards. This was a path he had to walk alone.

In silence, Eizen pulled out a coin from his pocket, and with a flick of the finger, the coin flew upwards. Before it could land, he caught it.  He uncurled his fingers, revealing a gold coin on the palm of his hand with what looked like an image of the Reaper. He spoke up. “A Reaper. No matter how much I flip this coin, this is the side I will always get. I warned you once and I will warn you again: anything good I hold onto tends to escape my grasp.”

Aifread blinked; was _that_ what he was concerned about? This malak was a lot more interesting than he initially thought.  And with a smirk he said “And you know what I say to that?”

And before Eizen could blink, Aifread’s hand quickly moved and snatched the coin from the palm of Eizen’s. With a grin, he exclaimed “I say: If you can’t hold something in your hand, _make a fist, and take it by force!”_

Now Eizen blinked, trying to comprehend what he was saying - “by force”? What game was Aifread playing at now?

“You heard me.” Aifread flipped the coin. “If you want it, you take it by force.”

Eizen smirked; Aifread was much more interesting than the rumors made him sound. He took his advice and took a step back, using his body weight to throw a fist to his ribs. Aifread twisted his body to the right; Eizen was too slow. He took Eizen’s confusion to his advantage, and a fist landed with a thud on his right shoulder. Eizen was pulled off his feet, and stumbled, his left hand rising to cover his right shoulder; the blow had sent a jolt of pain through Eizen’s entire arm.

“You shouldn’t let your guard down that easily,” Aifread smiled slyly, flipping the coin once more as if to tempt him.

Eizen was a fool for thinking Aifread would give him an easy victory - two could play that game. He straightened himself and moved forward with another punch, and Aifread ducked. He saw the chance and aimed for Eizen’s chin with his left. But Eizen didn't skip a beat - Aifread missed. Eizen wasn't a fool; he wasn't going to fall for the same mistake twice.

To win, he needed to get the coin, which meant he had to figure out how to force Aifread to drop it. But Aifread didn't allow much of an opportunity for Eizen to stand around and think. He threw punches one after the other, giving Eizen barely enough time to dodge, let alone think. He carefully read his moves and found an opportunity, headbutting him. Aifread was quick to twist his body to dodge, but it was too late when the pirate captain realized it was a feint. Before he could register his surroundings, Eizen, with tremendous force, threw a blow to the stomach. The blood welled out of Aifread’s mouth as he tumbled backwards, crashing into the wooden floor, the coin making a sharp sound as it hit the deck. 

Eizen smiled as he leaned down to pick up the coin. “ _You_ shouldn’t have let your guard down that easily.”

Aifread laughed; he had underestimated him, and he clenched his stomach as he attempted to stand up. “Not half bad.”

“You weren’t bad either.” He grinned back. Despite Eizen being victorious, he was sure he would have been done for if he hadn't managed to defend against his attacks. The battle was over, and Aifread had delivered only one blow throughout the entire fight, and yet he could still feel the throbbing pain from that punch. So if he had attacked again, there was no telling what would have happened.

Aifread picked himself up to leave, but before he did he spoke up. “Eizen. Curse or not, I don’t care if you’re searching for an answer and will leave us after you do, or if you're taking advantage of the fact that we can't see you to board this ship.”

“I had no specific reason to accept you onto the Van Eltia, but you are interesting,” he answered his question with honesty. “You don’t have to stay - I’m not forcing you. But know this: as long as you are on my ship, you are a part of my crew. You are soft if you think bad luck would stop a crew like this. The Aifread crew ain’t as weak as you think it is.“

Aifread dragged himself towards the cabin door and Eizen watched him. People talked big and boasted of their abilities, but when they needed to fight, they would run and cower in fear. But the man in front of him was different; he had a peculiar air from the start, but it wasn’t until he fought with his fist that Eizen finally understood. Aifread was serious. He didn't hold back. He wasn't a great villain for nothing - he did whatever he wanted and said what he wanted and fought for what he wanted and nothing could stop him. He was interesting.

Aifread reached for the door handle, but before he could take another step, Eizen stated “My sister.”

Aifread turned around, confused. “Huh?”

“I am answering your question, Aifread. The lucky girl I am writing to is my sister,” Eizen responded; there was no harm in saying it now. “...But lay a hand on her, though, and I’ll punch you.”

“Is that so? I guess I’ll have to be careful.” Aifread chuckled. It felt nice that Eizen was telling him this much. And it felt even nicer that he was calling him by his name. He was growing soft, or perhaps fighting with Eizen rubbed softness off on him. “And Eizen… I forgot to mention: welcome aboard the Van Eltia.”

Eizen didn't need to reply, nor did Aifread say more; he left him on the deck alone with his thoughts. Eizen pulled out the envelope from his pocket and smiled. He was on a ship with an odd captain and crew, but he didn't hate it. After what just happened with Aifread, for the first time, he thought to himself that maybe after all these centuries, he was wrong. He was always afraid that he should, and would, walk this path alone, but at the same time, there was nothing wrong with walking it with someone who accepted him.

Even if that someone was the worst villain alive.

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration of this entire fic was when Eizen said during Aifread fight 'But a certain idiot once told me, “If you can’t hold something in your hand, then make a fist and take it by force!”' and so the whole idea started there- I hope you enjoyed the fic!


End file.
